Cadbury Fingers urges UK to 'come together' with BSL

Mondelez International brand Cadbury Fingers has joined forces with the National Deaf Children’s Society for a new campaign designed to encourage UK consumers to learn some British Sign Language to help the nation come together.

Devised by VCCP London, the activity is the latest chapter of the brand’s “For Fingers Big and Small” campaign series under the strapline “Sign with Fingers Big and Small”.

The campaign highlights the difference British Sign Language can make in helping deaf BSL users feel included in shared moments.

Cadbury insists its Fingers are made for when everybody comes together, yet many in the deaf community report feelings of isolation and exclusion in the kinds of shared moments that Fingers are made for. “Sign with Fingers Big and Small” aims to get Brits started with little lessons to learn some everyday phrases and conversation starters in BSL.

The new campaign aims to ensure that deaf people do not miss out on these moments in the future, and celebrates the role of fingers in helping more people come together and be a part of everyday interactions.

The campaign launches with a powerful 30” film, featuring a deaf teenager who describes in BSL her experience of missing out as a deaf person. As her mother bustles around the kitchen, and places a box of Fingers on the kitchen countertop, the young girl looks directly at the camera and begins signing in BSL, with subtitles appearing underneath her.

To highlight the exclusion experienced by deaf people, some of the subtitles are then hidden during the scene by her mother, steam boiling from the kettle, and her younger brother, offering viewers a small glimpse into disrupted interactions she experiences every day. The film ends with a call to action for the nation: “Feel like you’ve missed bits? Let’s help more people feel included.”

Alongside the film, which is running on VOD, CTV and YouTube, the campaign features little lessons in BSL to help people start to learn everyday sayings in BSL such as “Fancy a cuppa?” or “Having a good day?”, alongside other regular conversational topics such as “typical British weather isn’t it” and “what a goal!” to help kick-start people’s BSL lessons. Illustrated animations of these phrases will feature in DOOH, on YouTube and in social activity on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

These illustrated phrases direct to BSL lessons, taught by the lead actor in the film, on the “Sign with Fingers Hub”, which also includes links to additional resources and learning, provides deaf awareness and inclusion advice, and discusses the various other communications methods deaf people use beyond BSL.

Media has been planned and executed by Carat.

Cadbury Biscuits senior brand manager Susanne Nowak said: “Cadbury Fingers are the much loved chocolate biscuits made for sharing and we’re on a mission to ensure no one misses out on those everyday shared moments like enjoying a cuppa or an afternoon biscuit with friends and family.

“Helping people learn some British Sign Language (BSL) will play a really important role in helping deaf BSL users feel included, and while BSL involves much more than just the use of hands, fingers are a fundamental part of signing. We’re immensely proud of our new campaign and hope it will encourage the nation to learn a little bit of sign language to ensure everyone feels included.”

VCCP London creative director Laura Muse added: “Teaching people how to communicate with their own fingers, through British Sign Language, is one of those ideas that you know is brilliant from the first time you see it. And to make it feel as easy, and as fun, as sharing a box of biscuits has been an absolute pleasure.”